The Tale of the Marauders
by ravenbrenna09
Summary: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were not the only Marauders. The Marauders were more than just a rag-tag group of four that pulled pranks. They were so much more, so much bigger than anyone who held the Marauders' Map thought. But, they were people, who loved, who lived, and who, just like everyone else, died. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1: Snowball Fight

**Okay, I'm so sorry for such a late next chapter. But, usual excuses apply, school is incredibly important lol. But, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and want to go on this incredible journey with me to tell the story of the Marauders.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. All canon characters belong to J.K. Rowling, the person who originally created them.**

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Chapter One: Snowball Fight

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For Lily Joanne Evans, her view on what the Marauders actually were would change in approximately two months and three weeks. She'd quit blinding herself by their outward appearance and would define them as what made them a close family-like unit that she would come to see that they were. And, on that day, she'd have the blood of _three_ different people on her hands, her cheeks would be stained with tears, and she would see more of James Alexander Potter than any other girl (non-familial) had ever seen before.

But, in this current moment, she remained blissfully unaware of where she would see the Marauders in a different light.

At this current moment, Lily Joanne Evans was only thinking about how James Alexander Potter absolutely infuriated her and wondered how in the hell she would manage to survive another two and a half years with him as a student in the same year and house as her. Because, in all honesty, it was difficult for her to last through all their classes with his obnoxious comments and jokes and how he snickers in the back of the classroom with Sirius Black while Professor McGonagall is talking and it absolutely _infuriates_ her when she cannot look up from a textbook without seeing him looking at her like … _something._

Yeah… something.

It continued to be as infuriating and frustrating as it was before Christmas Break. And, they had only been back a week and Lily felt like she needed an entire bottle of firewhiskey (maybe even more than one) and another month vacation away from the intolerable boy who liked to pull pranks and managed to make a fool of himself every time that she saw him. Marlene had told her that he has feelings for her and can't help himself because he's trying to show off to her. Lily called him an idiot anyways and Marlene had simply informed her, "Boys are idiots."

And, she's annoyed that it's only been a week.

It had only been a week since Hogwarts had started up, yet it seemed like Lily Evans's well-deserved break from dealing with the shouting and arrogant Marauders had been for nothing. Her head was pounding from the mere thought of having to spend an entire day with them. It might've only been Tuesday. But, they were being obnoxiously loud yesterday in Potions. No doubt, they'd be three times as loud in Herbology.

 _Merlin,_ she thought. She was getting a headache just _thinking_ about the possible class.

"Are you okay?" Marlene asked, her blue eyes looking at her with concern. The Ravenclaw was seated opposite her on the other side of the Ravenclaw table. The blonde had her blue robes draped over her book bag beside her, showing the white button-up and a sweater beneath. While Lily had opted for a pair of jeans to combat the cold weather (it's not like anyone was going to see her pants), Marlene had decided to wear a pair of leggings beneath her skirt.

Lily gave out a heavy sigh, running her hands through the strands of her red hair. "I'm just dreading Herbology is all. Especially with the Marauders, they've been really loud ever since we came back."

Marlene nodded her head. "At least we'll have it together."

 _Oh, right_. Yeah, she decided, that was something that would make the start of the day better.

Ever since the Marauders played a prank on the Slytherins (which Lily still remained unaware of because she was sick and everyone refused to talk about it), Professor Sprout had promptly **refused** to let the fifth year Gryffindors and the fifth year Slytherins into the same room. It took a lot of maneuvering schedules to make it work and Herbology classes halted for nearly an entire week for the Gryffindors. Now, the Gryffindors had Herbology with the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins had the class with the Hufflepuffs.

"Speaking of Herbology," Lily spoke, spotting the time on her watch. "It's nearly time for us to head that way."

Marlene quickly glanced at her watch, pushing away a pesky blonde corkscrew curl that had fallen from her ponytail and bouncing against the side of her nose. "Oh my, yeah, we only got a little bit to get over there before Professor Sprout starts taking attendance! We better get going. Who knows what we're going to encounter with the Marauders going full swing today?"

Lily felt her stomach drop as she wrapped her winter robes tighter around her and tied her scarf around her neck. And, by the time they had gotten outside, Lily knew that they definitely weren't prepared.

…

For the first time since she stopped beside her typical Prefect partner, Remus John Lupin let out a heavy sigh.

The brown-haired Prefect (and the only Marauder she could deal with on a near constant basis) was a little worse-for-wear. He looked awfully sick, but the boy got sick at least once a month. After five years, she _almost_ wasn't surprised. This fact, however, did not stop her from wanting to wrap up the boy in another layer of clothing to prevent him from getting a cold or develop a fever. He was dressed in his winter robes with his Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck. His green eyes briefly flickered over Lily and towards Marlene, who stood on Lily's other side.

As if sensing the change in his eyes, the Ravenclaw girl looked up and questioned, "How long has this been going on?"

"About ten minutes," Peter Pettigrew spoke up from the steps. The plump boy was seated on the steps into the Entrance Hall. The position of two of the Marauders made it easy to see that the steps were the only safe place from the barrage of snowballs that were being thrown across the castle grounds by the only missing members and the Granger twins. At the sight of the two girls, the boy stood up to stand on Remus's other side, seemingly uncomfortable being the only one seated on the ground.

While Peter was easily the shortest amongst his friends, he was nearly the same height as Lily and only a little shorter. He had a full head of mousy brown hair and a pair of warm brown eyes. He had always been a follower of the other three Marauders, Lily knew, but the boy was a good and supportive friend. Peter smiled over at the blonde on Lily's left, who smiled back and gave the boy a small wave.

Turning her gaze back to the snowball barrage, Lily let out a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. "Leave it to Black and Potter to somehow start the Snowball War of 1976."

Sirius Black was the closest one to their position. His long, black hair was covered in snow, having been shot with fifteen different snowballs a moment before. His robes were covered in snow, his cheeks were a bright shade of pink, and his hands were pink as well (as he didn't have any gloves on). He let out a loud laugh for no reason at all, scooped up a large ball of snow, and chunked it Chaser-style at one of the Granger twins.

Since they had only transferred to Hogwarts a week ago, Lily had not had the time to figure out which twin was which. The Grangers twins were almost identical. They styled their hair in opposite ways and their only other identifying marker seemingly were the necklaces that they both wore. But, it had only been seven days that she had met them and Lily had been so adamant about avoiding James Potter that she hadn't gotten the chance to get to know the twins, who seemed to hang around the Marauders a lot. But, whichever twin received the chunk of snow from Sirius hit the ground, his dark brown hair covered with the remains of the snowball. The other one, equally as tall, scooped up a lump of snow and returned it back to Sirius.

It hit his chest and he fell back into the snow, letting out a laugh.

The twin who fired the shot was knocked to the floor, a laugh emanating from his lips. "Sorry, Jimmy, there's only one James and that's me," James Potter victoriously announced.

Before Lily could even get a chance to spot James Potter, she felt the annoyance at his arrogance well up her throat. And, sure enough, there the boy was the only remaining of the four-person war that was still standing. James Potter had a mess of unruly black hair that stuck up in all directions which seemed to be only amplified by the snowball fight. He had on a pair of round spectacles and behind those were a pair of hazel eyes. He didn't have his winter robes, but he wore a pair of thick pants and a button up. Despite his lack of warm clothes, he seemed fine.

"Good job, Prongs!" Sirius shouted.

Beside her, Remus rolled his eyes again. "I don't care if he charmed his clothes," Remus remarked under his breath. "He's an idiot."

"He's always an idiot," Lily found herself replying.

"They're all idiots," Remus agreed.

Marlene let out a sigh, though it almost sounded like a laugh. "On a normal occasion, I would agree with you in terms of potions," the blonde replied. "But, James is fairly good with Charms."

"Either way," Remus remarked, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "If he's going to stand in the cold without his winter robes, he better drag _himself_ to the Hospital Wing to get a potion. The same notion goes for Sirius."

"I mean, they could just brew it in the room," Peter remarked.

Remus shrugged his shoulders. "Do you really want them to be brewing their own potions?"

Peter's cheeks flushed pink and he turned back to the field.

As he did, James was thrown sideways by three snowballs colliding with his right side. He hit a hill of snow with an "oof" and whole structure collapsed around him, briefly burying him in the snow. He quickly fought to the surface, not bothering to fix his glasses which were askew on his face. He threw up his hands in protest as he turned towards the person who had struck him. It was all really childish as though he had just been disciplined by his mother (which he might as well have been). "What the hell, Cat? I already won."

The girl in question stepped into the battlefield, standing beside Sirius's fallen form. Cathleen Dunbar had her brown hair draped in elegant waves down her shoulders. She wore her winter robes tight around her body coupled with a Gryffindor scarf and a hat pulled over her ears. Because she was without her bookbag, Lily deduced that the elegant woman had managed to make it to Herbology before the snowball war. Her wand was in her hand, controlling the handful of snowballs that hovered a few inches from the tip of the wood.

"Hey," Sirius let out a laugh. "It's the Snowball Queen." Cathleen Dunbar looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. Lily looked between the two of them, before glancing at Marlene. The blonde simply shrugged her shoulders. "What? You aren't going to - _umph!_ " The snow beneath Sirius shifted, shoving him up until his stomach collided with the ground instead. He sunk into the snow for a brief moment before his head lifted up and he spoke, "Okay, I might've deserved that."

"Might've? More like definitely," Cathleen remarked. "Come on, you four idiots, it's time for Herbology."

Peter jumped down from the steps to help out James Potter. Both Remus and Marlene took to the steps as well, walking down cautiously, before moving over to the twins. After Lily stepped down, she made a beeline for Cathleen, who grabbed ahold of Sirius's arm and pulled him to his feet. Sirius Black gave her a half-hearted grin. "Hi, Evans," he spoke.

"Black," she remarked. "You best get inside or your fingers might freeze off."

"Yeah," Cathleen remarked, putting her wand behind her ear. "I don't think you'd look nearly as handsome if your nose gets frostbite."

"Thanks for being concerned with me as always, Miss Prefect," Sirius spoke to Lily, before bounding away towards his other half, who stood across the battlefield.

Only half a heartbeat later, the gaping hole in their little trio was filled up by Marlene, who had rushed over after helping the twins up. The blonde looked curiously towards James and Sirius, who collided in a hug and simply fell into a heap of snow. Unfortunately, Remus was standing behind James and was as such dragged into the pile of snow as well. Remus looked disgruntled as he said something, but it must've been funny because all three of them burst into laughter.

"Maybe James should give up going after Lily and simply pursuit Sirius instead," Marlene spoke in an undertone towards the two of them, crossing her arms across her chest. Lily let out a laugh to which Cathleen also joined in.

"They'd make a cute couple, wouldn't they?" Cathleen spoke.

"They already are," Lily remarked.

Cathleen let out a giggle, placing her hands over her mouth to hide the sound of her laugh from the boys. Then, suddenly, the smaller brunette grabbed her hand in one hand and then reached out towards Marlene, who was already expecting her hand and practically held it out for her to take. Then, Cathleen pulled the two girls towards the greenhouses, her hands intertwined with hers.

…

"There you are!"

Dorcas Meadowes was leaning against the counter of the many tables scattered throughout this particular greenhouse where they would be working on _something_. At first glance, Dorcas Meadowes looked like Cathleen Dunbar's twin sister. The two of them liked to trick people on frequent occasions and Lily was not immune to their tricks. It didn't help that they were almost the same height. Where Cathleen had rounder features, Dorcas was more angular and sharp. But, they had the same brown hair and bright, soul-searching amber eyes. With her ivory skin and the freckles dotting her cheeks, Dorcas Meadowes looked like a supermodel.

Beside her, Alice Prewett popped up, peering around Dorcas with her bright brown eyes to look towards the three girls that had walked inside. Alice was tall with long blonde hair that was pulled into a ponytail. Her robes were too big for her curvy frame just like everything she always wore. But, the girl was beautiful and could easily captivate the room if she wanted to. She grinned, the blush rising quickly to her cheeks as she reached out to wave at the two newcomers. "Where were you guys?"

"Potter, Black, and the twins started a snowball fight," Marlene supplied, walking over and flopping on the chair two down from Dorcas. Cathleen moved into the empty seat between Dorcas and Marlene. "Lily and I got trapped up by the school until Potter won the snowball war and then Cathleen sent him into a pile of snow."

Dorcas let out a snicker. "Ahh, the cousinly love I've come to enjoy," she responded.

Cathleen gave a brief dramatic bow.

Lily let out a quiet laugh at her friend's antics. She dropped her bag onto the greenhouse floor beside Marlene's before slipping into the chair beside of her closest friend. "Yeah, it was quite amusing to see Potter being thrown and quickly buried in a giant pile of snow," Lily admitted to her friends.

Her friends let out a laugh. "Well, you know Potter," Alice responded. "Always does anything with everything he's got, except for his school work, of course. That's got to be an admirable quality to you, Lils."

The red-head blinked, confused. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Dorcas rolled her eyes before giving her a simple smirk. "Come on, Lily. Everyone knows that you hate James Potter. He's constantly asking you out and pulling pranks on you in an effort to get your attention. Plus, add in the fact that he bullies your best friend, sorry Marlene, your best _male_ friend and it would be perfectly understandable if you did actually hate the bloke's guts."

"I don't hate him," Lily responded. Both Dorcas and Alice raised an eyebrow. "I may highly dislike what he calls fun and his arrogant behavior _and_ the fact that he always seems to find a habit of putting dungbombs in my bookbag in an attempt to win my affection. Though, if he really knew me, he would know that being a show-off and a bully is in no way to catch my eye. But, saying hate is a really big thing. Even after everything that Potter has done, I don't hate him."

"That's good," Cathleen spoke, folding her arms over her chest. "You don't need to be holding onto all that negativity. It's not healthy for you."

Lily felt like that was a jab at something else and promptly refused to acknowledge the comment from her friend. Before any of them could move to continue the conversation, Professor Sprout opened the door to the greenhouse, dragging in Sirius Black by his ear and James Potter by the arm. The rest of the Marauders and the twins followed behind the struggling students and the disapproving teacher. While Peter dutifully followed James and Sirius, Remus and the twins moved over towards them.

"Hi Jimmy, hi Olly," Alice beamed, waving at them. The twins gave a sheepish grin at the group of girls, coming to a stop behind Lily. She looked up at the twins. Both of them were tall and skinny with dark brown hair and light freckles dotting their cheeks. The two were dressed almost identical with the major tell being the fact that they had styled their hair in the opposite direction from the other. Lily still didn't know which one was which and she felt bad.

"Hey Evans," one of them spoke, giving her a sheepish grin. The other one gave her a tooth grinned. "How's your morning been?"

"Okay, other than being delayed by your snowball fight," Lily teased.

"Sorry," the twin with the toothy grin responded. "That was my fault, not Olly's." _So, that's Jimmy_ , she thought to herself. Jimmy had his necklace out on his Gryffindor tie. It was in the shape of a sun, glinting brightly because of the light. And, his hair was pushed upwards to the left. Behind her, she vaguely heard his name and then his left hand reached out to catch a vial of ink, catching it in his grasp.

Beside him, Olly seemed standoffish, looking around confused. His hair was styled the exact same way except his hair was angled to the right. He caught the object that Jimmy passed him with his right hand, turning it over in his hands as he did. His necklace was out and it was a bright star.

The notion that the two of them were essentially wearing the same exact thing was an amusing prospect to her.

And, somehow, Lily thought, that described the twins perfectly.

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 **Hey, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I had a lot of trouble with this chapter actually. I know where I want to go and how I want things to happen, but starting a story has always been my biggest problem. So, that's one of the major reasons for this delay. Another is school stuff, you know how that all goes, especially in college (fun times).**

 **But, I hope you guys review/favorite/follow to get notified of the next chapter and I'll see you guys then!**


	2. Chapter 2: Conflicting Ideologies

**Hey guys, I'm back!**

 **Now, I apologize for such a long wait between chapters (I think the most recent one was in Feb?), but I had a bit of a problem. I had an idea for where I wanted the story to go, what events I wanted to happen, and in what order I wanted them to be. But, a story is only as good as it's conflict. It's the driving force of the story and it helps the plot along and changes characters. And, honestly, I didn't have one. But, I have one now so I managed to work it all out.**

 **So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

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Chapter Two: Conflicting Ideologies

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Lily slumped against the library table, peering at her Transfiguration notes which were propped up against the stack of books that she had pulled off the shelf for help with her Transfiguration essay.

Of all of her classes, Transfiguration had to be Lily's worst. She always did good in the class itself. Even five years into her school, her grades had always been an E or occasionally an O, but it was her only class that required Lily's complete and utter concentration. In the days before a test, she would constantly study for it in every waking breath that she could. She knew the theories. She knew the applications. And, yet, she always seemed to struggle for a bit once she started class. It frustrated her to no end.

Especially because James Potter, who never tried for anything in his entire life and constantly seemed to just be "going with the wind", would always complete the incantation on the first try. It was almost annoying because Professor McGonagall never seemed to be surprised by his accomplishments, nor did any of the other students. But, Lily always was shocked. He never had to study in Transfiguration, Charms, or DADA to succeed; and, he never really bothered with Potions which is probably a good thing considering the number of times he's blown up a cauldron in Professor Slughorn's class.

She pursed her lip, irritated that James Potter somehow managed to infiltrate her thoughts without even being in the library.

"I better get going," Severus's calm voice broke through Lily's trance.

Lily glanced towards her childhood friend, who sat on the other side of the table. The Slytherin boy was dressed in his black school robes with silver and green accents on it. Compared to her own, his robes had obvious patching in the arms and the sleeves had been unsewn to give a longer length. He had grown quickly this year and she imagined that his school pants were short as well. His black hair hung in front of his face like a thick, heavy curtain to block him from the outside world. His nose was long and straight, but he looked up at her with dark eyes.

Severus Snape had been the first one to show her the beauty of the magical world. She thanked him a hundred times over because her older sister had made her feel like her magic was the most awful thing in the world. However, Lily was becoming increasingly aware that their friendship was slowly deteriorating. He was hanging out with other Slytherins, who would whisper "Mudblood" whenever she walked by in the hallways. She would simply pretend not to hear, but she would be lying if she hadn't wondered if he returned to other Muggleborns in the same way.

"Going where?" she questioned, out of curiosity. "I thought we were going to be working on our Potions project."

"It's not due for a couple more weeks," Severus replied, hoisting his book bag over his shoulder. "Besides, Arkwright and I were paired up for the upcoming Herbology essay and he's terrible at the subject which means that I will most likely be doing nearly one hundred percent of the work. So, I'm far more worried about that."

Lily couldn't disagree with the fact. Most likely, they would manage to complete their Potions assignment in a couple of hours. And, they both knew enough about Potions to be able to push it off until the weekend before the due date. "Okay, I'll see you in Potions." Severus nodded his head, before leaving the library. He had the books he borrowed under his arm and deposited them at Ms. Price's desk to be put back. Lily let out a sigh, resting her head against her knees.

"Thank, Merlin, I thought he would never leave," a confident and irritating voice sounded on the other side of the desk, in the seat that Severus had just abandoned.

Lily couldn't suppress the groan at the sound of her company's voice. "Leave me alone, Potter."

He chuckled. "Aww, you can recognize my voice without having to look up. Maybe, you do like me after all."

Lily glanced up at him, propping her chin up on her arms as she stared at him with a pointed glare. "It's not that hard to recognize the voice of the prat who is constantly trying a bit _too_ hard to get the attention of everyone around him. Now, will you please leave me alone?"

An amused expression crossed James's face. "Sure," he remarked, leaning against the table and placing his chin in his palm. Lily sat up, knowing what was coming and already began to pack up her things. "Go out with me next weekend for Hogsmeade and I'll leave you and Snivellus alone."

There's a brief bubble of anger that flared up in her gut at the use of Severus's nickname that he used to bully him. Even five years later, Lily was unsure where the nickname had originated and only knew that it hurt her friend even though he tried to hide it. But, Lily had experience with James Potter. She knew that James was only using the name in her presence to get the attention that he had come to get. So, instead of biting his head off, she bit her own lip, hard in an attempt to not give James Potter exactly what he had sought her out for.

"Come on, Evans," James replied, leaning back in his chair. "Just one day, two hours, and then you'll see the charming guy that I am and you'll fall madly in love and ditch your friend, who you're only friends with as a pity."

Lily scoffed. "I highly doubt that," she remarked. "And for the record, he's more of a friend than you've ever been to me or anyone for that matter."

"I feel like Sirius would disagree with that. But, is he though?" James questioned, crossing his arms over his chest as he balanced on the back two legs of the library chair. "Is he a good friend with all those Slytherin friends that he has? You know how they feel about you. If I was your boyfriend, I would curse them all to oblivion for threatening you as they do."

"For starters," Lily replied, crossing her arms as she glanced around the room, eager to find _any_ sort of person that she could make an excuse to flee this conversation. There wasn't anyone and she felt the need to sigh loudly as she turned back to James in front of her. " _Severus_ isn't my boyfriend so that comment is null and void."

"Wait, so you're admitting that you see me as a potential boyfriend figure?" James replied, raising an eyebrow with a look of glee on his face that made him look even _more_ ridiculous.

"Secondly," Lily continued as if he hadn't said anything, "If I _did_ have a boyfriend, I wouldn't want him cursing Slytherins just for some choice words. Just because they don't like me for something as silly as my blood status, it would be stooping to their level to curse them into oblivion. Almost like cursing first years and pulling people up by their ankles just because it's fun."

"And lastly?" James questioned, leaning forward and propping his chin on his hand.

"Oh, right, thanks for reminding me," Lily replied, beginning to put her stuff away in her bag. "Me going on a date with you. It's never going to happen and it only exists in your dreams because I would never want to date someone like you, who curses people for fun or because you _feel_ like it or it makes you feel powerful." Lily stood up, picking up her books that she had checked out in her arms. "And, here's something to think about, Potter. That's exactly what some Slytherins with more radical views do, isn't it?"

James was quiet, looking up at her.

"Doesn't that mean you guys are more alike than you think?" Lily questioned, before walking away from him and putting the books on Madam Price's desk as she passed.

…

"I'll be right back, I forgot my notes in the room," Olly supplied, getting up from the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room.

He stood on his feet, stepping over the limbs of Cathleen Dunbar and Dorcas Meadowes, who were sitting side-by-side and giggling over something or another. As Olly crossed the common room towards the stairs, he noted that Lily wasn't in the Common Room before remembering that she had mentioned something about patrols when Cathleen had invited her to study at dinner. When Olly climbed up the stairs two at a time, he could hear Sirius's outraged cry on the other side of the door.

"She said what?! The-!"

"Sirius," James's voice cut him off, tired and annoyed and having apparently had this conversation on more than one times before. "Don't finish that sentence."

Having just entered the dorm, Olly glanced over at James and Sirius, who were eating chocolate frogs on James's bed and apparently deep in a conversation that he had interrupted. Sirius looked like he was going to say something else, but realized that Olly was hovering in the doorway and simply replied, "Sorry."

Sitting on his bed, James was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a shirt for a Quidditch team that was so heavily worn that Olly could not identify which Quidditch team it was. His hair was somehow messier than normal and his glasses were perched on the side of the bed. He squinted at Olly as he walked in. Sirius wore the same type of wear, with a shirt that must've had a Muggle band on it because Olly did not know the name of it. Sirius sat opposite of James at the foot of the bed, his legs stretched out and a pile of chocolate frogs in front of them.

Peter was on his bed on the opposite side of the room, still in the conversation but also managing to pour over what must've been the History of Magic essay that was due tomorrow morning. Peter was smaller in stature and plump than the rest of them, burrowing into his book in an effort to get the paper completed before he could fully engage in the conversation. But, James, ever the Chaser, happily tossed a chocolate frog in his direction.

"Oh, hey Olly, what's up?" Sirius piped up. Olly blinked, realizing that he had been staring and remembered why he had come into the room.

"Getting my Transfiguration notes," Olly informed, walking over to his bed near the window. Before he and Jimmy had arrived, there were only four beds in the fifth-year Gryffindors dorm. Now, there was six. Jimmy had claimed the bed closest to the door and Olly had gotten the one by the window, crammed between his brother and Remus's bed. "I left them up here in my bag by accident. Jimmy and I are studying for our test tomorrow with Alice, Cathleen, and Dorcas. Did you guys want to join us?"

"Nah," Sirius replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just going to wing it. Plus, Minnie likes me a lot so I imagine that she'll just grade me harder anyways simply because it's me. James is as gifted at Transfiguration as he is getting rejected by Evans-"

"Are you kidding me, Padfoot? What part about 'I don't want to talk about it' do you not seem to be getting through your thick skull?"

"-and Peter's doing the History of Magic essay that he's been putting off since we were assigned it."

Olly's eyebrows furrowed as he stepped closer. "Evans? As in Lily Evans?"

Sirius blinked. "Is there another Evans?" the black-haired boy questioned.

"Not that I'm aware of, but I'm still pretty new around here, you know?" Olly replied, leaning against the post of Sirius's bed on the other side of the front door. "But, I guess… I didn't realize that you had feelings for her is all. Also, where are your glasses, James?"

"He does," Sirius (and Peter) confirmed, nodding his head and eating another chocolate frog.

"Migraine," was all James said, motioning towards his head. A few moments later, James got up from his spot on the bed, moving into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. As James closed the door behind him, Sirius climbed off the bed and slid over his own to inform Olly.

"Been in love with her since the moment he first met her," Sirius admitted, his voice quiet and hushed as though he was afraid of being overheard. "Well, not really, I guess it was more of intrigue at first, but hormones, teenage first loves, and I don't know, it sort of developed more after that. James'll deny the fact that he's in love with her, but it's true. I've never seen him that crazy about a girl before. "

"Just cause he's crazy for her doesn't mean he's in love with her," Olly replied.

"While true," Sirius replied, pointing a finger at him, "You simply haven't been paying attention, Olly. He's in love with her and it might turn out to be something one day. A best friend _knows_ as I'm sure you, as someone with a twin brother, are acutely aware." Olly rolled his eyes at his roommate's antics, with a brunette girl popping into his mind. "Now, you better get downstairs before you end up failing the Transfiguration exam."

"Alright, alright, I'm going. See you in an hour or two," Olly replied, slipping out into the hallway.

Sirius enthusiastically waved at him as the door shut behind him.

…

Sirius practically kicked the bathroom door open as soon as the door to the hallway was closed and locked tight so they wouldn't be interrupted again. The three of them had been talking about the plan for the full moon when Sirius had smelled Olly's cologne as he had come up the stairs. James must've heard him on the floorboards because he quickly switched the conversation to Lily Evans, the target of his affections, which lead to the comment that Olly had interrupted.

As the wooden bathroom door had flown backward, it collided against the wall, bouncing back briefly before Sirius put his foot out to stop it. But, James, who sat on the floor stirring the cauldron that they had hid beneath the sink with the potion concoction that they (well, James) had created.

"It's not going to be easy," Sirius remarked to his friend, glancing towards the door where Olly had disappeared through. He crossed his arms over his chest as he did, looking over his shoulder. "I mean, the two of them are already nosy enough that we had to move the potion in here. I can't even imagine trying to sneak out of the dorm without them noticing."

"Yeah, it was easier when it was only the four of us," James remarked, biting down on his lip as he stirred the cauldron. "We'd definitely have to wait until they go to sleep or say something about going to pull a prank or something so they don't suspect anything." Suddenly, James reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Mate, do you need your glasses?" Sirius questioned.

"No," James remarked, with a sigh as he leaned his chin against the palm of his free hand. "I see better without them. Besides, they certainly aren't helping with the migraine I'm starting to get."

"How quick would it take you to make a potion to cure your headache?" Sirius questioned.

James blinked. "Twenty minutes?"

Sirius nodded. "It's quicker to run to the Hospital Wing. I'll be right back. Plus, who knows whenever Jimmy and Olly would be back up? You need to stay completely focused on that."

"Trust me, Sirius, I am well aware."

…

"I don't understand him!" Lily shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the hallway.

Beside her, Remus Lupin let out a laugh that seemed to catch in his throat. "James always has a tendency to be dramatic."

On a typical patrol, Lily Evan's partner was normally Severus Snape. Typically the male and female of the house were paired together, but Frank Longbottom, the Head Boy who made the schedule, figured that they tended to work better together. Plus, the fact that Severus and the female Prefect, Phoebe Murphy, tended to butt heads helped his decision. Remus used to patrol with Phoebe, but after Phoebe had thrown a fit (over Remus's blood status of all things), she ended up with the Ravenclaw male prefect. And, Remus started patrolling with Regina.

But, Severus Snape being sick had resulted in Severus and Remus switching patrols.

However, how their conversation had switched to the black-haired Chaser is beyond her.

Lily turned towards Remus, who walked beside her. His voice was groggier than normal, as though he was starting to get sick again. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his robes. His skin was paler and he was obviously struggling to stay awake.

"Remus," Lily started. "You sound awfully sick. Are you sure that you're okay? If you're worried about me being by myself, I can finish the patrol."

Remus sent her a look. "I'm fine, Lily," he spoke, smiling at her. Despite the toothy grin and the fact that his voice was genuinely honest, Lily could tell that he was struggling with something. "Don't worry about me, honestly. I've been sicker than a simple cough." As if to prove it, he coughed into the elbow of his robes as they walked on. Lily didn't doubt him, but she had always been worried about him when he got like this. They might've not been patrol partners, but she cared a great deal about him. Remus glanced at his watch and remarked, "Besides, there's only an hour left until Frank and Mary start their round. So, I'll be alright until then."

"Are you sure?" Lily questioned.

"Lily," Remus cut through, a grin on his face. He pivoted towards her and began walking backward in one fluid, smooth motion. There was a smug look on his face as though he knew something she didn't and feared what he was going to say next. "I've already told James, who insisted on getting the Ravenclaw prefect to replace me because of a slight cough, that I was fine. I've already fought off one mother hen. Don't make me fight off another."

Lily rolled her eyes. _James Potter and I are nothing alike._

"I promise," Remus informed her, "That I will tell you if I feel like I cannot continue through the rest of the patrol. Okay? Is that alright with you?"

" _Fine_ ," Lily replied, poking him in the chest. He laughed. "You better stick to that promise, okay?"

"Only for you, Lily," Remus replied, cheekily as he returned to walking normally by her side.

Once their conversation had died down, the hallway around them was eerily quiet, if they hadn't been used to the imposing silence that Hogwarts always seemed to weigh down on their shoulders. As the two of them traveled down the long hallway, the lanterns around them flickered to life, burning bright. Then, as they moved away, the flames ceased, leaving the hallway behind them quiet and dark behind them. The night sky poured in from the windows that lined the right side of the hallway. The stars were twinkling and the almost full moon was high in the sky.

As they walked, Lily stared at the stars, trying to pick out her constellations. Before Lily had come to Hogwarts, she had never learned anything about Astronomy, but now, she constantly seemed to be looking at the stars ever chance that she could get. Mostly, she did it in the summer when Petunia, her older sister, was being incredibly pushy about something or another. Her father would join her from time to time as he loved hearing about the movements of the stars.

"You better tell Snape to get better soon," Remus spoke as they walked. "I won't be here this weekend."

"Is your mom sick again?" Lily questioned.

Remus nodded his head. "Yeah, Dumbledore, uh, managed to pull some strings to get me to go home to visit her. Dad thinks it might be really bad this time, so he wants to have me home on the off chance that something happens."

Lily nodded her head, reaching out to touch his arm. Remus's eyes flickered over at her in surprise. If Lily hadn't known any better, it seemed as though he had not been expecting her to do such a thing.

"Don't worry about it, Remus," she told him. "I can patrol on my own if I need to. If Frank is worried enough about me, he can patrol with me. You need to be with your family and I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind getting to see you again even if it is only the second week back."

Remus smiled, the kind of smile that didn't fully meet his eyes. "Thanks, Lily."

"You're welcome and I'll make sure to write extra good notes for you in Ancient Runes!"

Remus laughed. "Yes please."

Lily wondered if Remus was sicker than he was letting on. The laugh seemed almost fake like he hadn't meant it at all. Lily almost asked him about it. But, then, Lily remembered Remus's statement about having to fend off James for being a "mom". So, she bit her lip and let it go for the meantime as the two of them continued their walk to the next hallway, where the lights were dim. The lights flared to life as they turned the corner and headed further into the castle on their rounds.

"And," Remus spoke up. "After what happened with Mary MacDonald earlier in the year, I don't think that Frank would want you patrolling alone."

"I can protect myself, Remus," Lily replied.

"I know," Remus remarked. "But, I still wouldn't want you patrolling on your own is all."

"Thanks. That means a lot, Remus."

* * *

 **Next time: James and Sirius are being suspicious (but that's almost normal for them).**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Let me know if you guys have any thoughts in any way you want. Leave a favorite if you enjoyed and/or follow if you want to be updated on the next chapter! Leave a review letting me know your thoughts if you have any and I'll see you next time.**


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